Slower, Slower
by Hot Donna
Summary: Haley tells Nathan she's pregnant on the way from the recpetion and he's shocked, scared and speechless. He needs time to clear his head and think things through, but will it be too late then? Angsty. Naley. Part III up! Complete!
1. Part I

This is a different take on the season 3 finale. Mainly because I hate Rachel and the thought of Nathan touching her... shudders This is a short fic. Like just two parts. Angsty, kind of. This is dedicated to a friend I haven't talked to in a while. She wrote the angstiest one shots I've ever read. She taught me the beauty of angst, but I won't write much of it. Too much angst makes me cry.

Haley tells Nathan she's pregnant on the way from the reception, he handles it kinda the way he did on episode 4x05. The song is **Run** by **Snow Patrol**. Killer song, really. I love it.

* * *

Slower, Slower

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* * *

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_"We're having a baby!" She said cheerily._

_Nathan's eyes widened in shock.__ "What__"_

_"Yeah."__ He__r__ smile faded. "You're not…happy?"_

_"How do you know?" He scowled slightly, not sure he was hearing right._

_"I took a pregnancy test…" She reached down nervously to get her purse and then realized she forgot it. __"Oh, gosh." She said distractedly.__ "I forgot my purse and everything at the reception." She glanced at his emotionless face. "We have to go back."_

_Wordlessly, he called Lucas. "Hey can you meet me at Molina Bridge with Haley's stuff? She forgot it." He paused briefly. "Thanks." He hung up and drove silently._

_Haley stared at him, her throat throbbing and aching for her to cry.__ "Are you __gonna__ talk to me?" He __didn't__ answer. "Nathan?"_

_"Not right now, Hales." He muttered lifelessly._

_She hugged her arms and sat back. All of a sudden, it was cold._

* * *

This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Of his too. But she had to tell him the truth right _now_, didn't she? Her and her stupid honesty system, she thought to herself. She watched as he paced the opposite side of the bridge and she felt tears brim her eyes. 

He hadn't said a word to her since she told him. He had been silent. He probably wasn't going to talk to her anymore. "Nathan," she started tearfully as they waited for Lucas to bring the things she'd left at the reception.

He didn't know what to say about it. She was going to have his baby and he was numb to the news. Not long ago they'd argued about this. He wanted to reassure her that everything was going to be fine but he couldn't find the words to do it. "What are we gonna do?" He finally spoke in a croaked voice.

Haley sat on the rail of the bridge with a sigh. "I don't know. Can't we figure it out…together?" Tears were going to run down her face on her wedding day. When he turned away, she shook her head and sighed. She looked down at the water below her, hoping her tears would just fall there and dissolve and then she'd look back at Nathan and everything would be fine. It'd be like she never cried.

Nathan sighed in relief when he saw Lucas' car coming up. He walked over to the spot that Lucas had pulled over to, forcing a smile at the blonde boy when he climbed out of the car. "Thanks for this, Luke."

"No problem." He handed Nathan Haley's stuff, glancing at his best friend who seemed to be in a different world. He looked back to Nathan suspiciously. "Is everything okay?"

Nathan looked up from the items he'd been studying unnecessarily, obviously answering with his eyes. "I don't know anymore."

"What happened?" Lucas wondered, concerned for them both.

Nathan gave him an edgy look. "Haley's pregnant."

A whoosh of agitated air left Lucas' lungs; he didn't know how to process the news. It was Haley and not Brooke. He should've been relieved. And in a small way he was, but then again it was _Haley_. _His_ Hales. Lucas' eyes narrowed in unyielding distress. "Nate, I know it's shocking and it's scary. But, you can't leave her like that." He motioned to the girl who wasn't even paying attention to them.

Nathan glanced back at her, his heart breaking at the sight. "I don't know what to say to her." The pleading sound in his voice was desperate. For answers. For the right thing to say.

"Tell her it's gonna be alright." Lucas urged.

"But is it?" Nathan wondered hopelessly. "Because I'm not so sure right now. We're not ready for this. And I don't want to lie to her and tell her that when I'm not so sure myself."

"Whatever you do, Nathan, you gotta tell her something. Don't leave it like this." He said in a low voice, his eyes traveling back and forth from Haley in the distance to Nathan. "This is your wedding day. Your _second_ wedding day. You married her twice." He held up two assisting fingers. "You stood up there on that altar and promised you'd be there for her through thick and thin…_twice_." It hurt Lucas to see her hurting that way. It hurt to watch Nathan in so much confusion, but this wouldn't break them. It couldn't. Not after all the hell they'd been through. "You did that for a reason." He pointed to Nathan's chest, so close he almost poked him.

Heaving a sigh, Nathan fumbled with her belongings in his hands and looked back at her again. "I love her, Luke."

"Then tell her that." He said encouragingly. "Go tell her that."

He straightened his slumped shoulders and smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Luke."

"No problem." He clapped hands with him in their brotherly way, but the sound of screeching tires knocked them out of their bonding thanks. Nathan's eyes widened and his heart stopped as he watched the limo that had been stolen from the reception hurling straight towards Haley.

"Haley!" He screamed in pure panic.

"Hales!" Lucas was behind him, screaming in terror.

Karen rushed from the passenger seat, running to stand next to the boys, her mouth covered by her hand in dread.

It seemed it all went in slow motion for him. Haley jumped from the rail, expecting to dodge the oncoming car, but it had been too late and there she was, being forced over the edge by the halting vehicle. Her shriek of horror broke through his body like a knife. As her things fell from his hands, his dream and the fear that dream had brought flashed before his eyes as he ran to the edge of the bridge.

* * *

_Nathan, help!_

_Tell Haley to stay away from the water. __No swimming or anything._

_Something's__ wrong. She should be here._

_Haley was drowning and I __couldn't__ save her._

_I should just go see her._

* * *

It was as if his legs couldn't carry him fast enough. "Call 911!" He heard himself yell as he yanked his coat from his body and tossed it lifelessly to the ground. 

Cooper had managed to stop the car from completely going over. Only the front was hanging over the edge. He could hear Rachel and Karen screaming in the background. He glanced around; it was as if his body wouldn't move quick enough.

Cooper was on the phone, talking frantically. He called 911.

Rachel was screaming for Haley at the edge of the bridge.

Karen was screaming for Lucas. Lucas was lying on the ground, clutching his chest.

He was running to jump. It seemed like his legs couldn't carry him any slower.

"Nate! No!" Cooper yelled, but Nathan jumped over.

Not a soul could tell him no. Not when it was Haley. Not when it was his unborn child.

His ability to hear the people on the bridge faded as he splashed into the water.

* * *

**I'll sing it one last time for you**

**Then we really have to go**

**You've been the only thing that's right**

**In all I've done**

**And I can barely look at you**

**But every single time I do**

**I know we'll make it anywhere**

**Away from here**

**Light up, light up**

**As if you have a choice**

**Even if you cannot hear my voice**

**I'll be right beside you dear**

**Louder louder**

**And we'll run for our lives**

**I can hardly speak I understand**

**Why you can't raise your voice to say**

**To think I might not see those eyes**

**Makes it so hard not to cry**

**And as we say our long goodbye**

**I nearly do**

**Light up, light up**

**As if you have a choice**

**Even if you cannot hear my voice**

**I'll be right beside you dear**

**Louder louder**

**And we'll run for our lives**

**I can hardly speak I understand**

**Why you can't raise your voice to say**

**Slower slower**

**We don't have time for that**

**All I want is to find an easier way**

**To get out of our little heads**

**Have heart my dear**

**We're bound to be afraid**

**Even if it's just for a few days**

**Making up for all this mess**

**Light up, light up**

**As if you have a choice**

**Even if you cannot hear my voice**

**I'll be right beside you dear**


	2. Part II

**Thanks for all the great reviews guys! Loved it!**

**And I do think that I'll be adding one more part after this, so stay tuned!**

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**Slower, Slower**

* * *

Nathan stood up slowly when the doctor came out. He left the tears on his face. "How is she?" He asked desperately. "Please, tell me she's okay." 

The doctor sighed sadly. "The car hit her. Pretty badly."

"Is she…?" _Going to die_, he finished in his head. He couldn't bring himself to ask that question when it came to her.

"She's really banged up, Mr. Scott." He told him sadly. "She's unconscious. One of her lungs collapsed. There are a few bruised ribs, one's broken. Her leg is broken."

"God, no." He could feel the tears crowding his eyes again. "The baby? Is the baby…?"

"I couldn't tell you right now." He said sadly.

"Can I see her?" He asked unsurely.

"Of course."

He remembered the last time he saw her…

_She never could swim that good, and the cold water that felt like __needles__ when her body hit it did nothing to help that fact. __But__ she had to, she had a baby to take care of. She had Nathan that she had to work things out __with__. They had to be together. __But__ the wedding dress was getting heavy and her attempts at ripping it off were all in vain._

_Her left leg __wouldn't__ move though. __And__ every__time she tried to swim, her ribs would send a searing pain through her body. She wanted to cry out, in __fact ,tears__ would be streaming down her face if the water she was drenched in wouldn't have washed them away. _

_Accidentally, she tried to breath. Of __course__ she knew she couldn't, but she had no choice. She had been holding her breath for too long. __But then__ all the water got caught in her nose and her throat and she felt herself struggling against the air supply she didn't have.__ She could feel her eyes rolling in the back of her head when somebody grabbed her from behind.__ It was Nathan and she knew it. That was the last thought she __remembered__ before the fact that she __couldn't__ breath shut her body down._

_"Nate!" Cooper was yelling._

_Nathan flew up from the water with a loud gasp for air, Haley's unconscious body rising with him.__ Heaving for air, he looked into her face as he struggled to swim to the small dirt area on the side. "Haley. Haley, baby. Wake up." Her head was lifelessly resting on his shoulder.__ He shook her slightly as he felt his feet touching solid__ ground__. "Haley. Come on. Please." He cried, touching his hand to her cheek._

_"Is she breathing?" Cooper had run to meet Nathan at the side. He fell right beside the spot Nathan had laid her._

_Nathan __hadn't__ really heard his words, he just heard his__ own__ voice__ and his heart thudding in his ears__ as he lifted her head helplessly to his. __"Haley, no."__ He said seriously__, breathing in her pale face__. "You can't do this to me. You have to be here.__Baby, wake up.__ Please.__"__ His st__rained voice broke as he sobbed, resting his forehead on hers.__ "Baby, please. We're __gonna__ have a family." He murmured in her ear so only she could hear him._

_"Move, let me do CPR." Cooper ordered, pushing his nephew out the way._

_Nathan moved over with Cooper'__s help, holding his head __faintly_No_, he __thought__ to himself. This __wasn't__ going right. "Haley. Wake up. Come on."_

_"She will, Nate. Don't worry." Cooper said guiltily as he pumped on her chest._

_The sirens he __hadn't__ heard, but he saw the paramedics running to her aid. "Watch out! Please!" One man called. "How long has she been out?" He asked Nathan, seeing he was the one who was soaked._

_"__Just a few__ minutes."__ Cooper answered when Nathan __didn't_

_The paramedic noticed she __wasn't__ breathing and looked worried. "Let's__ get her up there, come on!" He looked to Cooper and then Nathan quickly. "What's her name?"_

_When Nathan seemed speechless from shock, Cooper sighed nervously. "Uh, her…it's Haley."_

_In no __time,__ there was a stretcher and she was ready to be transferred. "How old is she?"_

_"She's pregnant." Nathan finally spoke, though he was as quiet as a mouse as he watched her lifeless body __being laid__ on the stretcher._

_"How far along?"__ The paramedic asked more urgently._

_"I don't know. I just found…" His voice left him again when he saw the breathing mask __being put__ on her face._

"Hey."

Nathan turned to look in the doorway, surprised to see Lucas standing there. "Hey man." He stood up and rushed over to him, hugging him tightly.

Lucas didn't hug him back for a beat, surprised at his reaction. Then, with a slow chuckle, he wrapped his arms back around him. "You alright?"

"I'm so sorry, Luke." Nathan apologized, ignoring his question. "I'm so sorry."

"Nate, hey. It's not your fault." Lucas announced. "Rachel grabbed the wheel while Coop was driving."

Daggers of hate for her flew threw Nathan's eyes. "What?"

"Yeah. It's true." Lucas patted his back reassuringly.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you." Nathan apologetically said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I had a mild heart attack." He glanced over his brother's shoulder to see Haley. "But I'm fine now." His eyes met Nathan's gravely. "How is she?"

Nathan took a deep, shaky breath. "Uh, she hasn't even woken up yet. They don't know…" He couldn't continue and pinched the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes, trying not to cry.

Lucas pulled him into another hug, his own tears forming. "She's gonna be alright, Nate. Don't worry."

Moving out of the embrace, Nathan looked down at the ground. "Luke, the last thing I said to her wasn't how much I loved her or how happy she makes me. I didn't say anything to her. I watched her cry and I did nothing about it."

Forcing an assuring smile, he kept his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "That's why when she wakes up, you're gonna tell her how much you love her. How happy she makes you." Lucas listed endearingly. "You'll get to wipe away her tears." He reminded in a heartfelt whisper.

Nathan sniffled and wiped at his face. "If she doesn't wake up, I'll never forgive myself Luke."

"She's not going anywhere, man." Lucas assured again. "Really, would Haley skip out on us without even graduating first?" He laughed sadly, but hoping to cheer Nathan up. "She's been working on her valedictorian speech since she was eight."

Nathan smiled a little at the thought of her.

"And you know we have crucial finals this year and knowing Haley, she has to be here to make you study at least twelve hundred times." With one arm wrapped around Nathan's shoulder, he brought the other hand up and patted his brother's chest. "She's gonna be fine."

He glanced back at her, Lucas words only giving him a part of the hope he wished he had. "The baby. What about our kid? This can't happen."

"It won't. Calm down." Patting him one last time, he walked around him and walked to Haley, eyeing her slowly. Letting out a soft sigh, he tucked his hands in his pockets. His eyes never left her.

Nathan watched the agony spread over his brother's face and sighed. "I'll give you some time to…" Without continuing, he walked out of the room, his head drooping in sadness.

Lucas watched Nathan walk out before turning back to Haley. He moved closer to her and then dropped in the chair Nathan had probably been glued to for the past few days. "Hales, you…you can't do this to us." He said, his voice stubbornly shaking, the confidence he'd spoken to Nathan with wasn't so evident anymore. "You have no idea how much we need you around. Especially Nate. He's a mess." He rested his elbows on the bed, his face only mere inches away from hers. She was banged up pretty badly and the sight of her made him frown. He hated seeing her like this. He had been so helpless to stop her suffering. He'd had a heart attack at the sight of watching her go over. He'd known her for so long, seeing something so dramatic happening to her sent him in uncontrollable panic.

"You can hear me, Hales. I know it." He whispered in her ear. "Just wake up. We really need you." Smiling sadly, tears rimmed his eyes. "Your baby needs you, too. You're going to be such a good mother." Looking down to find her hand, he grabbed it. Then his eyes made their way back to her face. "Who knows, you might even have a little girl who's even more of a nerd than you are." He laughed through the pain, his brief laugh ending when she didn't respond with something quirky like she usually did. He dropped his forehead onto her bed. "Haley, come on." He pleaded almost inaudibly.

After a few drawn out seconds, his head shot up when he heard her groggy voice say, "Or a boy that's even more broody than his uncle." A sheepish smile spread out over her face but her eyes were still closed.

Lucas' eyes lit up with happy tears. "Hales?" He asked, seeking confirmation that he wasn't going crazy.

Her eyes only opened a little and she did so slowly. "Luke?" She repeated, mocking him in a way.

He leaned up and pressed a kiss to her forehead, standing afterwards. "I have to go tell Nathan that you're awake. He's-"

She gripped onto his hand as hard as she could-which wasn't really that hard. "No, Luke."

He was confused. "What? Why?" A little of his happiness faded.

"I know Nathan probably hates me right now." Her muzzy voice shook. "I've ruined everything for him." She sighed sadly. "His future is ruined and it's all because of me."

"What? Haley, no." Lucas reclaimed his seat beside her. "Nathan's a mess right now, Hales. He's so worried about you-and his child." He added to assure her.

She frowned worriedly. "You sure? I mean, he probably doesn't even want a kid right now. He wouldn't even talk to me."

"He got scared. As every guy would hearing that they're about to have a child and they're barely seniors in High School." He smiled softly at her. "But Nathan's had plenty of time to digest the news and he doesn't want anything more than to make you the mother of his children."

Looking only half convinced, she looked down at their conjoined hands. "So there's no way I could just, pretend to still be out of it?" Her half smile gave off that she was still afraid to face her husband.

Lucas laughed gently. "Trust me, Hales. Nathan's ready to be a father." He pressed another kiss to her forehead and stood up slowly. "I'll go get him."

"Fine." She cleared her throat, trying to get the scratchy sound out of her voice. "But come back with him in case he decides to pull the plug." She joked, wincing in pain as she laughed.

Lucas frowned and held a hand out to steady her. "Don't hurt yourself, Haley."

"I know, I know." She waved him off weakly and closed her eyes.

Lucas opened the door and watched Nathan as he sat against the wall across from Haley's door. He looked down at his brother with a relieved smile. "She's awake."

"What?" Nathan hopped up, his hands combing through his hair. "When?"

"A few minutes ago." Lucas let the door close.

"Should I go get the doctor?" Nathan was panicking.

Lucas chuckled at him. "No, no. You go see her. I'll get the doctor."

"Wait." He grabbed hold of his brother's arm urgently. "Is she…does she seem mad?"

Lucas shook his head and frowned at Nathan. _What was wrong with these two?_"No. Just scared."

"Why?" Nathan asked with concern.

Lucas sighed and looked around the hall, wondering if he should tell him or not. Looking down at his shoes, he shook his head. "She thinks that you hate her."

"What?" Nathan hissed as if that was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

"She thinks she ruined your future." Lucas spoke quietly with a pained expression. "Go see her, Nate."

With a solid nod, Nathan walked past his brother and pushed the door open slowly, peeking into the room. She looked over at him and smiled and finally, he felt his heart beat again. He walked inside and slowly made his way to her bedside. "Hey."

"Hey." Her reply was followed by a moment of silence.

"Nathan-"

"Haley-" They started at the same time.

They both stopped and Nathan waved his hand at her to continue.

"I'm so sorry." She blurted, starting to cry.

He took his designated seat next to her in a hurry and grabbed her hand. "Haley. Don't…don't say that. You have no reason to be sorry. I love you. I want this." He confessed with a blur of tears. "You have no reason to be sorry, alright?" He leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to the side of her head. "I'm so happy to hear your voice." He whispered tearfully.

Sighing in relief, she wrapped her aching arms around his neck and pulled him close. "Nathan, I love you."

"I love you so much, Hales. You have no idea." He murmured to her. "You make me the happiest person in the world, just knowing that I'm married to you and that you're allowing me to spend the rest of my life with you." When he heard her sniffling, her reared back and cupped her face, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. "I love you, Haley." He leaned forward and gently kissed her, the pain he had been feeling in his chest resolved.

And then, their ache was gone.

**I'll sing it one last time for you**

**Then we really have to go**

**You've been the only thing that's right**

**In all I've done**

**And I can barely look at you**

**But every single time I do**

**I know we'll make it anywhere**

**Away from here**

**Light up, light up**

**As if you have a choice**

**Even if you cannot hear my voice**

**I'll be right beside you dear**

**Louder**** louder**

**And we'll run for our lives**

**I can hardly speak I understand**

**Why you can't raise your voice to say**

**To think I might not see those eyes**

**Makes it so hard not to cry**

**And as we say our long goodbye**

**I nearly do**

**Light up, light up**

**As if you have a choice**

**Even if you cannot hear my voice**

**I'll be right beside you dear**

**Louder**** louder**

**And we'll run for our lives**

**I can hardly speak I understand**

**Why you can't raise your voice to say**

**Slower**** slowe****r**

**We don't have time for that**

**All I want is to find an easier way**

**To get out of our little heads**

**Have heart**** my dear**

**We're bound to be afraid**

**Even if it's just for a few days**

**Making up for all this mess**

**Light up, light up**

**As if you have a choic****e**

**Even if you cannot hear my voic****e**

**I'll be right beside you dear**


	3. Part III

**Hey, thanx for the great reviews and thanx for reading. This is a little fluffier than the other chapters, it wraps everything up. Hope you like it!**

****

**Slower, Slower**

Haley smiled softly when Nathan crept into her room. He was still wearing the tuxedo from the wedding and it had been about five days since the accident. He looked tired and wore down and she'd been telling him to go home and clean up but he refused to leave her side. "I'm awake." Her scratchy voice informed as he tip-toed closer.

"Did I wake you up?" He questioned worriedly.

She frowned and shook her head. "No, no. I just can't sleep."

"Do you need anything?" He questioned, running to her side.

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

The doctor had just left the room after checking on the status of their child growing inside of her. He told her that if the baby was okay, she'd be leaving no later than tomorrow and if not, she would be staying. Then, he gave her the results on her baby's condition and now she was to tell Nathan. Nathan had been downstairs on the phone, explaining Haley's status to Deb who had called, seemingly worried about Haley and surprised and even more worried with the news of her unborn grandchild.

And now, he was afraid to ask what was going to happen to their child. "So, what'd he say?"

Haley smiled waveringly, as if she didn't know whether he'd be happy or not. "He said that the baby was going to be just fine."

Nathan let out a breath of relief and then smiled happily, wiping his hands over his face. "That's...great." He answered for a lack of better words. "That's so great, Hales. What about you? Are you gonna be alright?"

"Yeah," she waved at him dismissively. "I'll be fine. But supposedly, I have a lot of bed rest I'll need to be doing when I get home." She rolled her eyes, they both knew how she hated just sitting in bed all day.

Nathan nodded vehemently, running a hand over her tousled hair. "Well, you have to do it if the doctor says it'll help you get better, Hales. Don't worry. I'll be right there. I'll do anything you need me to do." He clarifed seriously.

"No, Nathan. Stop." She demanded quietly, gently stopping the movement of his hand on her head. "You don't owe me anything."

He frowned at her, her words putting him in a baffled state. "Haley," he started seriously, "I owe you everything." Their eyes met and he held her gaze. "I owe you my life."

Haley's eyes stubbornly watered. "No, really--"

"Haley, when you were in that coma, I couldn't do anything but think about all the things we hadn't done yet." He sat in the chair beside her and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips and reveling in the feel of her soft skin. His eyes slipped closed and he took a deep breath. "And the first thing that came to my mind was that, I want to have a family with you. Go to college where you went to college. I want to grow old with you." His eyes opened and his own tears pricked at his eyes as they met hers. "Haley, I wanna die with you." He paused and inhaled a shaky breath. "And you, you came back to me. Haley, I owe you everything."

Haley didn't believe she'd ever heard anything sweeter. "So the baby," she covered her mouth with her hand and looked away from him, trying to hide her tears but failing miserably. "This makes you happy?" Her free hand fell unconsciously over her stomach.

His free hand covered that one. "When you first told me, I was confused and scared," he shrugged slowly, showing that he was still a little scared, "I don't know what kind of father I'm going to be to my kid. And that scares me so much because I've only had one example and it wasn't really a good one." He chuckled nervously. "I really don't know what to expect from myself."

"Nathan, that's never scared me." She told him truthfully, looking back at him. "I know what kind of father you'll be. You'll be...great." She smiled softly at him and rubbed his face with her hand. "Look at what kind of husband you are."

He stared at her for a moment before dropping his head on the bed and sucking in his tears. "Hales, I was so scared I was going to lose you." His voice cracked and he looked up, his own tears were falling. "Just hearing your voice right now, makes me so happy." He smiled through his tears and swallowed. "We're going to have a kid." He told her, sincere happiness glinted in his eyes as he kissed her hand again.

Haley smiled. "I know. And as long as we have each other, we'll be fine."

"We'll be fine." He repeated, losing himself in her eyes as the doctor walked back in. The both of them wiped tears from their faces as the older man approached them. The doctor obviously gave them a moment to compose themselves before speaking.

"Mrs. Scott," he started smiling, "you're being released today."

"Wow, really?" Nathan was shocked that everything was happening so fast.

"Yep. Your wife's a strong woman, Mr. Scott. I've had patients who've gotten less damage than this and have died." He informed with true remorse. "But she stuck it out through the surgery and all."

Nathan gazed at his wife proudly. "Haley's always been pretty strong."

"Can I talk to you outside for a moment, Mr. Scott?"

"Sure." Nathan walked towards him.

The doctor saw Haley's worried gaze. "Mrs. Scott, it's nothing bad. Don't worry about that."

She looked only mildly relieved as they walked out. "What is it?" Nathan wondered nervously.

He smiled at him happily and then handed the clipboard to Nathan. "Just fill out these forms and she's free to go." He looked at the raven-haired boy in front of him as he lapped his hand over the other and motioned towards the door. "But she is to stay off of that leg for at least four to six weeks. Get lots of sleep and no stress at all."

He nodded, her orders becoming emblazed in his mind. "Alright. I can see to that."

"I tried to explain it to her earlier, but she looked quite partial to the news so I wanted to tell you to let you know." He briefly explained before patting him on the shoulder. "And congratulations on you and your wife's pregnancy. She's a lucky woman." He scratched at his temple. "I didn't want to scare her by telling her that no stress is nearly mandatory, that usually seems to scare my patients. But even though everything seems fine, we still need to be really careful. So, the less stress, the less worries we have about her carrying the baby."

Nathan nodded, taking all of the words in. "I got it. I'll look after her."

"I know you will, son." He smiled then motioned towards the door. "Let me just go say goodbye to her. She's one of my most quickly recovering patients."

"Yeah, I'll be right there." He said, pulling his cell phone out. He quickly dialed his brother's number. Lucas answered immediately. "She's getting out right now, so tell Brooke to go ahead."

"Really? That was fast." Lucas answered.

"Yeah. I know." Nathan was happy though, he hated hospitals. "But I have to go."

"Alright. See you in a bit." Lucas replied before hanging up.

When he walked back Haley was small talking with the doctor, but when she saw the eased look on Nathan's face, it made Haley's worries fade away. "Everything okay?" She asked him.

He nodded surely. "Yeah, everything's fine."

Dr. Graham decided to elaborate. "I was just explaining to your husband the guidelines of your bedrest." He clarified with a bright smile. "You are not to walk on your leg for four to six weeks, like I said." He repeated again.

"Yeah, about that. What happens if I just...do it anyway?" Haley asked with an innocent half smile.

"You won't." Nathan replied in the same tone as her, smirking softly.

"You can't watch me forever." She singsonged, looking away.

"I have been since the day we started going out." He retorted in a softer tone.

The doctor just smiled at their interaction. "Just bring those papers up to the front desk when you're done."

"No problem." Nathan had already began filling them out.

"Take care, Mr. and Mrs. Scott."

"You too, Dr. Graham." Haley called and Nathan gave him a friendly wave.

When he walked out, Haley turned to Nathan with a small pout. "Natey," she started, attempting to try and get her way, "are you really gonna make me lay in bed for a month?"

He half rolled his eyes, knowing what she was doing. "Yep." He answered quickly.

"Nathan, that'll stress me out." She complained. "I'm sure I shouldn't be stressing while I'm pregnant." She continued.

He dropped his head back in defeat, momentarily stopping the paperwork. Then, he looked at her. He didn't want her stressing at all. "Fine. What if I carry you around for like an hour a day?"

Her eyes lit up. "You would?"

He nodded. "Of course. And I'm sure you'll get a wheelchair, I could take you out for walks at the park, around the block..." He started, watching as she smiled, her smile was clearly contagious because before long, he was beaming.

"Anything to not be cooped up." She said with a satisfied sigh. "Where's everyone at?"

Inwardly, he winced. He knew he wasn't supposed to tell her, but he knew how much she hated surprises. "Um..." He cleared his throat and avoided her, putting extra concentration on the papers at hand.

Basically, giving himself away in Haley's eyes. "Nathan..." She started warningly. He mumbled something incoherent and she frowned. "What?"

He sighed, knowing that Brooke was going to kill him if she knew that he was going to tell her. "They're throwing you a surprise welcome home party." He repeated reluctantly, again taking a break from the release forms.

Haley looked on in appalled shock, raising up quickly--ignoring the mild pain that shot through her. "Please tell me this is not one of Brooke's brilliant ideas?"

"I don't wanna lie to you..." He started indecisively. "But maybe you should just calm down."

"Ugh! Brooke!" She screeched, sure she'd strangle the girl if she was there. "Does she want everyone to see me looking like some whacked out crash dummy?!"

Nathan stifled a laugh. "Hales, you look beautiful."

"You live with me. You have to say that." She murmured to him, glaring.

"No, I don't." He stood up and sat the papers on the chair, moving to sit on the bed next to her. "I say it because it's true."

"I'm so gonna kill Brooke." She admitted in a whisper, flopping back.

"Well, do me a favor and pretend to be surprised or Brooke'll kill _me_." He said half jokingly.

"Don't worry, I'll kill her first." She said sweetly smiling at him.

Nathan chuckled and pulled her into his side. "She's just trying to do something nice for you, Hales."

"I know. I just," she snuggled more into him. "I feel like just going home and hitting the bed with my husband."

"Hey, I don't think we can do any of that right now." Nathan smirked as he pressed a kiss to her head after she playfully swatted his leg. "Well, maybe I should call and get them out of there."

"How'd they know I was getting released?" She asked completely confused, raising up.

Nathan dodged her gaze. "I don't know. Brooke's psychic." He mumbled, examining his fingernails too much to be innocent.

She pushed him in his chest lightly--not that her current state would've allowed her to do it any harder. "Nathan, you knew I was getting out?!"

"No, I said you _might_ be getting out today." He explained in surrender. "And I _might've _told Brooke that, and she _might've _told half of Tree Hill to be ready for her to call when I called her and confirmed the information."

"Ugh!" She flopped back on her pillow again. "This is insane!"

"If you want me to tell her to call it off, I will." He told her seriously.

"No, no." She said reluctantly, sighing. "I guess Brooke's just trying to be," she glared at the thought, "nice."

He chuckled. "Yeah, she is." He decided in agreement. "But I'll make sure they don't stay that long." He told her, rubbing his thumb along her wedding ring. "Besides, we have a lot of baby planning to do."

She let a small smile creep up on her face. "Maybe that's what I'll be doing when I'm confined to the bed for the next month and a half of my life." She said halfheartedly.

"Hey, don't hog all the baby planning." He joked with a smile. "I want to get him a crib with little basketballs painted all over it, that's so cool." He said, truly excited.

Haley watched him with slightly narrowed eyes. "Okay, maybe our _daughter_ won't be a basketball freak like the Scott's, Nathan."

He laughed and shook his head. "It's so not a girl."

"Yeah, it is. And before we know it, she's going to be dating and kissing boys." She watched as his amusement quickly turned into fatherly worry. "And then we're going to have to have the talk with her because she's gonna be interested in sex." She hid her smile by turning her head.

"I really hope it's not a girl." He said darkly in thought.

Haley couldn't hide it anymore and then laughed. "Maybe she might even meet a womanizer like you."

Nathan smirked at her. "Are you trying to tease me?"

"It's working." She prided in herself as she leaned up to kiss him softly. "But seriously, if I have one more basketball obsessed male around me, I might go crazy."

Nathan laughed and pulled her into a hug. "You love us."

She looked up at him, a mixture of amusement and a glare. "You're right, I do. With the exception of Dan." She quickly pointed out before crinkling her nose. "I guess one more little Scott boy wouldn't hurt." She settled with a shrug of her shoulders.

He smiled happily. "We'll be good parents."

"Yeah, we will." Haley nodded and rested her head against his shoulder. She stifled a yawn as she got comfortable up against him. "You think they'd let me take a little nap in here before I'm released?"

"Yeah, go ahead. I'll just hold off on filling out those papers." He said, getting comfortable next to her also. He let his eyes slip close while he rested his head on top of hers.

She was almost asleep until one last thing crossed her sleepy mind. "Nathan?"

"Hmm?"

She smiled softly. "I never said thank you."

He frowned and opened his eyes. "For what?"

She tightened her arm around his waist. "You saved our lives."

His face took on a grave expression. "You don't have to thank me for that, Hales. I love you. I love our unborn child."

"I know, but you risked your life for us." She said quietly.

He pulled her closer, the memory flashing before his eyes. "I'd do it again." He pressed his lips to her head again, remembering just how lucky they were for her being here. "When I saw you go over, it was the scariest thing I'd ever been through." No one had told her about Lucas' heart attack yet. Since he was okay now, they were going to pick a time to tell her when she could deal with a little stress. "All I could think about was saving you," he brought one of his large hands to her stomach, "saving our baby."

"Who was in the car?" She questioned curiously.

He cleared his throat a little. "Rachel and Cooper."

Her eyes widened as she raised up. "What?"

"Haley, calm down." He said urgently, fearing for her health. "They're fine. Rachel grabbed the wheel while he was driving."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why?"

He shook his head. "Long story. But don't worry about it. The important thing is that you and the baby are fine and that it stays that way."

She laid back down slowly, reclaiming her spot on his chest. "I can't believe it. She's a psycho."

"I know." He agreed darkly. Rachel was lucky she hadn't ran into him yet. He was going to tear her a new one.

"Were you hurt?" Her voice was weak and childlike. To think that he could've gotten hurt for the likes of her made her stomach turn.

"Nope." He reassured.

She smiled softly. "I think I felt you grab me while I was...drowning." She admitted quietly.

"Really?" He asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, you grabbed me right before I went unconscious." Her eyes fell closed again and she stifled another yawn. "I knew you were going to rescue me."

He grinned at that, loving that she knew she could depend on him. His eyes reclosed too. "You can always count on that." He told her before they fell asleep.


End file.
